The Atlanta Hawks won the NBA Lottery for the first time in franchise history, and the reaction of the team’s star players shows we could be heading for an eventful offseason. Atlanta secured the No. 1 pick despite having just a 3% chance heading into the lottery.
Typically, we see star players react positively when their franchise has this sort of good fortune. Instead, Dejounte Murray indicated he is ready for a “crazy” offseason.
“NBA OFF SZN Bouts To Be Crazyyyyyy!!!! Lol 👀😅🍿,” Murray said in a May 12, 2024 message on X following the NBA Lottery results.
This is particularly notable given Murray and Trae Young have both been the subject of NBA trade rumors. It will be interesting to see how the Hawks franchise handles the future of their star players as well as the No. 1 pick.
Hawks Rumors: Will Atlanta Trade Trae Young or Dejounte Murray?
Meanwhile, Young remained quiet about the Hawks surprisingly landing the No. 1 pick. Instead, Young posted photos to his Instagram Story celebrating Mother’s Day.
During an exclusive interview with Atlanta native Taylor Rooks in April, Heavy Sports asked the TNT analyst if the Hawks need to move Young or Murray. Rooks can see a world where the Hawks build around Murray over Young.
“In terms of what they should do in the offseason, I am a big advocate of I want every player to get into the situation that works for them,” Rooks told Heavy Sports during an April 18 interview. “I think that if Trae and the Hawks end up having a conversation and they feel like, ‘Okay, this has not been working. We obviously had a great year [in 2021]. We went to the Eastern Conference Finals.’
“But I think that Hawks fans are trying to figure out what is the missing piece. Is it that piece is missing or is it that piece needs to be swapped?” Rooks continued. “Whatever it is, I think that Hawks fans really took a liking to Dejounte. Dejounte was able to step up a lot when Trae was hurt. That team was able to click in a lot of ways.”
NBA Draft 2024: What Will Hawks Do With the No. 1 Pick?
It remains to be seen what the Hawks will do with No. 1 pick. ESPN’s Jeremy Woo predicts Atlanta will take big man Alex Sarr who played in Australia last season for the NBL’s Perth. Sarr has a connection to Atlanta as the forward previously played for Overtime Elite.
“Coming off a solid year in the NBL, Sarr is the most physically gifted big in this class, and could give Atlanta a much-needed element of size and floor spacing from the frontcourt,” Woo detailed in his post-NBA lottery mock draft on May 12.
“He’ll have work to do in expanding his offensive game, sharpening his 3-point range and adjusting to the speed of the NBA, but could be quite valuable as someone who can stretch the floor and protect the rim at both the 4 and 5 spots. If the goal is to build a better defense around Trae Young, Sarr looks like a strong fit because of his versatility on both ends of the floor.
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Hawks Star Dejounte Murray Sends Cryptic Message After NBA Draft Surprise